INDIANAPOLIS (Network Indiana) — Indiana Senator Todd Young is positioning himself as both a bipartisan dealmaker and a line of defense against Democrats’ agenda as he kicks off a bid for a second term.
Young was one of 10 Republicans who visited the White House to propose a smaller COVID relief plan, but says he’ll vote against President Biden’s plan. He says he’d have supported a bill limited to paying for vaccinations, reopening schools and getting people back to work. But he criticizes the inclusion of items like $270 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. And he blasts 350-billion dollars to help states cover for the pandemic’s revenue shortfalls, charging it’s a bailout for blue states.
28 states, including Indiana, saw revenue declines last year, including 15 with Republican governors and 13 with Democratic governors. 11 states with Republican governors and 11 with Democratic governors saw revenue go up despite the pandemic.
Young is in the minority in the Senate, for the first time in 10 years in Washington. But he says there are enough Republicans to stop some of what he calls “the bad things” Democrats want to do. And he says there should be common ground on items like infrastructure spending.
In his reelection announcement, Young singled out Biden’s immigration policies for criticism, reminding voters of his past support for a border wall, vowing to fight “amnesty,” and charging Biden would weaken border protections.Young says Biden’s immigration bill doesn’t do enough to increase border security. The bill calls for more money for vehicle-scanning technology at the border and a commitment to improve detection of illegal drugs at the border.
But Young says he supported an unsuccessful past attempt to create a path to legal status for children brought into the U-S by their parents, the so-called DREAMers. He says he’d support it again, as long as it’s done through Congress, not by executive order.
Young is signaling to any potential primary challengers to reconsider, coupling his reelection announcement with the rollout of endorsements from his Senate predecessor Dan Coats, Senator Mike Braun, all seven Indiana Republicans in the U-S House, all but three state House Republicans, all but one Republican state senator, all but seven county party chairs, state chairman Kyle Hupfer, and nine former state chairmen, including Governor Holcomb.
